Jeremiah arrived at UChicago in the fall of 2007. He jokes that between graduation and the start of MAPH he went through every one of the motions that a recently-graduated liberal arts major can go through. After finishing at BU in 2005, he worked at a law firm, toyed with the idea of law school, decided he hated legal work, and applied instead to PhD programs, hoping to study Wittgenstein. Continue reading →

Being offered the MAPH internship at the Chicago History Museum had to be a nod to the absolute nerdism of my childhood – I was that kid who dragged her parents to every history museum within reach, wherever we were. I have become that adult who returns to the same ones over and over again. I was a Humanities student, but I am also a lifelong history geek, and the opportunity to intern in the Curatorial Affairs department at CHM let me do exactly what MAPHers do best: bridge the gaps. We’re cross-disciplinarians, proponents of academic cross-pollination.

I studied theater during my MAPH year, venturing out into a little bit of art history and concentrating very much on art-audience communication and relationships. I wrote my thesis on Tony Kushner’s AIDS-era epic play Angels in America, focusing on the work’s ever-changing relationship to its temporal setting: what happens when a play becomes history? I wrestled with Benjamin and his Angel of History, theories on nostalgia, and literature on historical drama. You can see the history geek peeking out. It always has. It’s a necessary marriage, I think.

More on the the internship and how it links to Deborah’s current project after the jump.

Most of you will be getting Tableau (the Humanities Division Magazine) in the mail in the near future. However, it is worth noting now the thoughtful article on the history of MAPH and the first 15 years of the program, by A-J Aronstein (MAPH ’10) featured prominently in this issue. If you don’t want to wait to get your copy you can read the article online now.

The memorable sign at Clark Street Ale House

If you are feeling fond memories of your MAPH years you have the opportunity to catch up with your fellow alumni at next week’s alumni meet up Thursday, October 13 between 5:30-8:30 at Clark Street Ale House.

If you are not in Chicago or haven’t been in touch for a while drop us a line and let us know what you are doing or let us know if you want to set up an alumni get together in another city.

Martin Schwartz (MAPH ’06) directed and wrote Tutor: enter the exclave, a theatrical piece based on JMR Lenz’s Der Hofmeister (1774). The work is slated to open tomorrow at Dark Porch Theatre in San Francisco, CA and runs through October 22nd at the EXIT Studio on 156 Eddy St. If you are in the Bay Area it looks like a great night out for some experimental theater.